The challenge
by Perceptions of a young dreamer
Summary: Set in AU. Roy (speedy) is a playboy and Raven is a nerd. He accepts a challenge from his friends to win the title of 'Lady-killer' but will he win something much more and lose his heart unknowingly? Main- Speedy and Raven. Very mild- Robstar, Cybee Disclaimer- I own nothing
1. Accepting the challenge

"'Love is the irresistible desire to be desired irresistibly',

….this a quote by Robert Frost, I want all of you to write a story or a poem revolving around this quote. And I want it by next Friday" a man with white hair, leaning on a desk said, his arms crossed around his chest.

All the teenagers in the room groaned, the adult in the room gave a devilish grin and added "Make it good, I will assess this for your final grades." Before any of the students could say anything the bell rang.

"Goodbye class, I will see you on Monday and get started on your assignment."

"Bye Mr. Wilson" the children said with no ounce of enthusiasm. All of them got up and headed outside the class.

A girl with long black wavy hair walked towards her locker, carrying her books in her hand and sighed with frustration when she saw a red headed boy already there, staring and grinning while looking in his locker, it was no secret that he had a mirror inside his locker and that his favorite past time was looking at himself. The petite girl opened her locker and began taking out her books which she would need later.

This bought the boy's attention to the girl, he turned towards her and leaned on his locker and grinned flirtatiously. She rolled her eyes at him and wordlessly left, not bothering to look at him again.

She was the nerd, Raven; the one who always got perfect marks. She was always quiet never speaking to anyone unless they spoke to her first and he was the flirt, Roy; always trying to speak with everyone and flirting with every girl who came near him.

He scanned his turquoise eyes around and all the girls that he looked at smiled at him and blushed. He grinned at them and headed towards his next class not giving the nerdy girl another thought.

At lunch break, Raven was sitting with her friends Jason and Kori. Roy was just a table over eating lunch with his friends, Garth, Karen, Victor, Richard, Garfield, Wally and Jinx.

"So as I was telling you, she was completely smitten with me…..no girl can resist the charms of Roy Harper." The red head said smugly.

A guy with shoulder length Prussian blue hair, Garth rolled his eyes and was about to say something when Jinx beat him to it and said "So you are saying that no girl is immune to your charms." her vibrant cat like eyes dancing with mischief. With that the other occupants of the table turned their attention towards the ongoing conversation.

Roy grinned and said "You got that right" and leaned back on his chair. Wally looked at his girlfriend, Jinx. Both of them seemed to be sharing the same devilish idea. Wally ran his hands through his shaggy red hair and said nonchalantly "Well since you claim to be the one whom no girl can resist, you won't mind a little challenge to prove it then."

"What challenge?" Roy asked clearly interested.

"If you can get a girl of our choosing to fall in love with you and admit it then we will accept that your charms cannot be resisted by anyone, and if you lose you have to surrender your title." Wally said with a smirk.

"I agree, if you can complete this then only we will accept you as our resident Lady Killer and a small bet won't hurt." A guy adorning sunglasses and with spiky raven hair, Richard said.

Karen, Victor, Garth and Garfield also agreed with them.

"Oh yeah, then I accept your challenge…what are the terms and who is the girl you choose?" Roy said standing up in excitement.

"The girl is…."


	2. Forming a plan

"You have until senior prom, which is in three months and the girl is…..Raven Roth." Jinx said with sly grin. The smirk on Roy's face grew.

Roy had never spoken to Raven or had tried to pursue her, he just assumed that she was playing hard to get, over confidence consumed him. He thought that if he showered her with attention and took her out on some dates then she would swoon over him like many others. And a plan formed in his mind.

With that Roy started looking around the cafeteria, his eyes locking at the dark haired beauty walking towards the exit. He grinned at his friends and said "Well I am going to win this challenge…..See ya'll later."

He grabbed his bag and ran after the girl, he saw her entering some room and without thinking he followed her. As soon as he entered the smell of old books assaulted his senses, the room was mysteriously quiet, he came to a conclusion that he was in the library, he looked around trying to find Raven when he saw an older lady staring at him.

The librarian was staring at the boy; it was no secret that the library was the last place where one would expect to see Roy Harper, the popular playboy who seemed to have nothing on his mind except for himself and girls.

Roy grinned awkwardly and started looking for Raven, he saw her sitting on a table at the end of the library, alone and reading with all her concentration. Roy ran his hands through his hair, making sure that he looked good and sat next to Raven. "Hey beautiful." He said smiling.

This was the first time he could really study her face, he saw that she was really beautiful, her face held gentleness and calmness while her eyes had a hint of mischief in them which spoke of complete sin.

She didn't turn away from her book while she said "Beat it, Harper. I am busy."

"Aww you hurt my feelings sweetheart." He clutched his chest in mock hurt.

She didn't even look at him, after a couple of moments he added "So babe, you and me dinner tonight?"

"No, and stop bothering me now." She said dismissively and got up and left the library, leaving a dumbstruck Roy behind. He stared at her with his jaw open, he never thought that she would so plainly refuse him, he just thought that she was playing hard to get but now he concluded that she may not be interested in him at all. He squashed that last train of thought, no girl is not interested in him; she just wants him to chase after her a little longer.

Maybe he could do what she likes to do, but all she seems to do is read and maybe study. He shuddered at that thought, reading and doing homework was something that he would never do in a million years. 'But I do need to win this challenge; I need to know more about her.' He thought.

With that Roy sought out Raven's friends, maybe they could tell him about her likes and dislikes. He headed to his next class which Raven's best friend, Kori was in. Kori was a beautiful girl, her fiery red locks and her jade green eyes complimented her sweet and naïve personality; she was from an island called Tamaran on the Pacific Ocean and English was not her first language. He waited patiently until the end of the class to talk to Kori.

After class Roy approached Kori who was humming happily, "Hello Kori." He said politely.

She turned towards him and smiled and said "Greetings Roy…"

And before he could say anything Kori spotted Raven, she walked up to the dark haired girl and said excitedly "hello friend, may I come to your house before we leave for Oblivion at eight in the evening."

Raven smiled at the cheerful girl and said "Of course Kori…if you want you can also stay over for a sleepover since tomorrow is Saturday." Raven hated sleepovers but she did owe Kori since she ditched the last sleepover the green eyed girl had planned. This was her way of making up to her.

Kori smiled ear to ear, clearly pleased and hugged the girl while exclaiming "Glorious, I shall see you at 6 pm."

With that the girls parted and headed towards their last class of the day, Roy heard everything and a plan formed in his mind, he was going to try to woo Raven in the club but he needed someone who could stay with Kori so that he could have some alone time with the her.

Roy entered the last class for the day and sat near his friend Richard, he nodded at him and in return Roy grinned. His mind was working up plans and strategies for him to win the challenge. After class he and Richard started walking towards the exit when Roy turned towards his friend and said "Dude, you have to come with me tonight to Oblivion."

"Why what's up?" Richard narrowed his eyes. He knew that this must have something to do with the challenge but why would Roy need his help. "I need you to keep her friend busy…..please." Roy pleaded.

"What friend?" the raven haired boy asked.

"Kori Anders." Roy replied smugly, he knew that Richard had a small crush on her and that's why Roy asked Richard to come with him. He smirked at the smile that formed on his friend's lips when he heard the girl's name.

"Okay…..what time?" Richard asked with a smile.

"Eight, don't be late….meet me at Oblivion." Roy stated, "The girl has got taste…Oblivion is the coolest club, maybe she is not the nerd we all thought her to be." Roy observed.

"Yeah she is not the stereotypical nerd, we all think of her to be." Richard stated. The smile never leaving his face at the prospect of meeting his crush, Kori. With that the two friends headed to their cars.


	3. First Try

In the evening, Roy was wearing his light washed denim jeans and a grey t-shirt that hugged his muscles. He looked at himself in the mirror again, grinned at himself and then left the room with a leather jacket in his hand.

He met his adoptive parents, Oliver and Dinah Queen on the way. He let them know where he was going and left, he would never say it out loud but he was very fond of them. They treated him as their own son and were there for him when he needed someone. He got inside his black Mercedes and drove off to club Oblivion; he chuckled at himself when he realized that he was acting like a stalker.

Roy parked his car and headed towards the entry of the club, it was little over eight so he knew that the girls were most likely already inside. He looked around for his friend and after a few minutes he saw his friend heading towards him. Richard was wearing a black t-shirt with denim jeans and green converse.

The two boys entered and saw the club packed with people, Roy started looking around but he couldn't find her. After half an hour of looking around Richard and Roy sat on the bar stools when Roy looked at the dance floor and his breath caught in his throat, Raven was wearing a off shoulder black top which reached just below her belly button and white shorts which reached mid thigh, her black hair was flowing down her shoulders in waves. He saw her laughing while dancing to the rhythm. Soon the blaring music in the background started fading away; his senses were overwhelmed by the essence of her.

Richard followed his friend's gaze and saw what he saw so openly ogling at. He smirked at his friend and said while laughing "Take a picture, it will last longer." That seemed to snap him out of his daze and he looked at his friend who was snickering. Roy smirked evilly and pointed Richard to look at Kori; she was wearing a green halter top dress which was cut off mid thigh.

Now it was Richard's turn to forget how to breathe. Roy laughed and nodded his head towards the girls, the boys made their way towards the girls. Raven seemed to have lost herself to the music; she didn't see that Roy was standing beside her.

Richard headed towards Kori and said "Hello Kori."

"Greetings Richard….the music is most fabulous here, don't you agree?" Kori said happily.

"It certainly is….will you dance with me?" Richard asked offering her his hand. Kori smiled brightly and took his hand.

Meanwhile Raven had noticed that Roy was standing beside her, she turned towards him and said "What are you doing here Harper?" he smiled sheepishly and said "Spending time with you?"

She rolled her eyes and said "You really are behaving like a stalker now."

"You know I have never seen you look so sexy before." He complimented loudly, but at that moment the music stopped and everyone heard his compliment.

Raven blushed with embarrassment and he just laughed. Raven then left the dance floor and headed to the bar to grab a bottle of water, Roy followed her. They sat on the bar stools and Roy was about to say something when Richard and Kori made their way over to them.

Roy grumbled under his breath and Raven pretended not to notice, Richard smiled at raven and said "Fancy meeting you here." Raven smiled at her old friend and said "Likewise Richie."

"How many times have I asked you to not to call me that" Richard said with a small frown.

"Maybe all our childhood, but you know better than to think that that will stop me." She said with a smirk.

Roy looked at this peculiar exchange and said "You two know each other?"

Richard looked at his friend and said "Yeah we have been old family friends." Raven looked at Kori who was smiling the whole time; she noticed that red haired girl's eyes were fixated on Richard.

"Please excuse us for a moment friends." Kori said while pulling Raven away. When the girls left Roy lightly punched his friend on the arm and said "Well, care to explain 'Richie'."

Richard snickered and said "When we were in kindergarten, I met Raven as Bruce and her father Trigon are good friends and business partners….we have a good friendship and she is also my neighbor. We don't need to talk everyday to maintain our friendship, and I do know her that's why I challenged you because I know that you are not her type and she is not easily won over."

Roy looked at his friend with a shocked expression and saw him grinning evilly, he smirked and said "You my friend are mistaken, I will win this challenge." Richard just smirked and said "We'll see."

Soon Raven and Kori returned, Raven had assured Kori that she and Richard were more like twins and that they were never romantically involved nor will they ever will be. Kori grinned and hugged her; they both would hate to lose such a precious friendship just because of a boy.

"Richie can I talk to you for a moment?" raven said. Richard frowned at the nick name but nodded. The two old friends step away for a moment to speak. This gave Roy the perfect opportunity to talk to Kori and get to know more about Raven.

"Can I ask you something Kori?" Roy asked. The girl looked at him and smiled softly and said "Of course friend."

"How do I get Raven to go out with me? She refuses to even look at me twice." Roy explained.

Kori thought for a moment and then said "It is not easy for her to trust people, she has been hurt before. So if you want to pursue Raven then you should start by earning her trust, becoming her friend." Roy thought over it for a few moments and then a question popped in his head and he asked "Thank you Kori…but why are you helping me?"

She smiled a little and said "You seem genuine to me and I want my friend to be happy."

Roy realized that Kori did indeed care a lot about Raven; the two girls were opposites of each other. Kori was happy, cheerful and naïve while Raven was sarcastic, a little short tempered and introverted. But the two girls helped each other and looked out for each other, because of Kori Raven became more open with others and happy and helped her with the problems of the heart while Raven helped her with matters of the mind.

Richard and raven returned, he was about to say something when Raven beat him to it and said "Kori its time for us to leave….bye." Kori nodded and turned to the boys and said "The evening was most enjoyable…goodbye." And with that the two girls left, leaving the boys to dwell on their thoughts.

They discussed what the girls had told them, Raven had warned Richard to never hurt Kori and he had asked for advice on how to approach her. Roy told his friend that Kori had shown him the way to win the challenge. The advice they had gotten from the girls was very similar, the difference being that Roy was doing this to win the challenge while Richard was doing this because he was genuinely interested in Kori.


	4. New but old introductions

The next day, Roy drove to Richard's house; his gang was already there, they had decided to go to the town's annual carnival. When Roy reached he couldn't help but look at the Roth residence, he soon snapped out of it and approached his friends.

At the carnival, Wally and Jinx were off somewhere, doing couple-y things. Garth and Garfield were probably goofing around; Karen was hanging out with Victor, which left Roy and Richard to hangout. They were looking at some games when they heard an all too familiar squeal, the boys turned around and saw the source of the sound to be Kori.

Kori was playing a stall with Raven and Jason nearby and she squealed with happiness when she won the game. Her companions were just smiling at her child-like wonder. The boys walked over to them, Kori turned around and saw Richard and Roy approaching her, she waved at them and said "Hello friends, are you having fun at the carnival also?"

Roy smiled and greeted her and then approached Raven and Jason, leaving Richard alone with the red headed girl.

"Would you like to go on some rides with me?" Richard asked with a charming smile. Kori smiled and nodded.

Meanwhile Roy approached Raven and said "Hey Raven, having fun?"

Raven rolled her eyes and said "Hello Roy, and I was having fun until two minutes ago." Jason chuckled at her dry wit while Roy looked unfazed, not losing his smile. Jason was about to pitch in their conversation when his phone tinged, he opened it and saw a remainder. He groaned and turned towards Raven and said "Sorry little bird, but I have to leave now."

She smiled at him and said "It's no problem." Jason smiled apologetically and left, turning once to Study Roy with narrow, suspicious eyes. Roy was doing a happy dance inside his mind; he could finally be alone with Raven, one step closer to winning his challenge.

While he was lost in his thoughts, Raven had started to walk away; he snapped out of it and then ran after her. As he caught up with her he said "Will you go to the rides with me?"

She scoffed and said "Please, as if."

"Come on I am really trying to be friends with you." She stopped and turned to look at him, she seemed to think over his words and then after a few minutes she said "Alright….we can try to become friends."

He grinned and said "Really….awesome." he stopped in his tracks to look at her; she turned around and saw him standing with a stupid smile on his face. She smirked and said "You wanna go for rides or just stand there with a stupid smile on your face." That snapped Roy out of his daze, he shook his head and caught up with Raven and he led her to the roller coaster, through the ride the new friends were laughing and at one point Roy had clutched Raven's hand when the ride had dropped unexpectedly; she just smiled and shook her head.

After a few rides, Raven turned to Roy and said "I need a break before we do that again, how about we just roam around for a while?"

Roy smiled whole heartedly and said "I'm cool with anything."

They started walking and exploring the carnival, Raven turned to Roy and said "I need to ask you something." Roy looked at her and nodded, urging her to go on.

"Why are you so persistent about going out with me?" she asked sincerely.

"Why are you so opposed to going out with me?" he countered. Raven narrowed her eyes and said "I asked first."

"I don't know, you just intrigue me…I just want to know more about you because I just feel that what you show to the world is not who you really are." He said honestly, the idea of the challenge leaving his mind momentarily.

Raven tried not to smile but her lips betrayed her, Roy looked at her attempt of trying not to smile and chuckled a bit. He turned to his companion and said "Now it's your turn to answer my question."

There was a slow pause and then Raven said "You are a playboy, it's hard for me to trust and I don't want to be a trophy to anyone."

"Then I look forward to gaining that trust…perhaps we can start over." He said with a smile.

Raven smiled clearly pleased with his actions and extended her hand to him and said "Hi, I am Raven."

"Roy, pleased to meet you." He said taking her hand.

"So Roy, tell me about yourself." She said, they both walking around the carnival. They spoke for a while, telling each other about themselves, Raven got to know that Roy is not just a pompous, arrogant jerk he can be funny and a good company also. Roy learned that Raven is just not a nerd she can also be a witty and interesting company.

"So, do you wanna play a stall?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, sure." Roy said heading towards the game. It was archery; raven looked at him with a raised eyebrow and said "You know archery?"

"Like the back of my hand." He said while picking up the bow, Raven rolled her but smiled a little and said "Mr. Modesty strikes again, let's see what you got."

Roy cocked a Styrofoam tip arrow and aimed, he took a deep breath and shot, the arrow hitting its target right at the centre. Raven gasped and Roy smiled, she looked at Roy and said "You really are good…you should try out for the school team."

Roy smiled taking a white bunny with a purple cape as the prize; he turned to Raven and said "For you, my lady." Offering her the bunny with a little bow, she just laughed at him.

"Thank you, kind sir." She said in a fake British accent and accepted the bunny. They laughed for a while and the Raven said after a pause "You really should try out for the school team…you really are good." He shrugged and said "Maybe…"

They walked for a while, the sun was starting to set, and Raven looked at the red head and asked "Do you want to go the Ferris wheel before we leave?"

Roy looked hesitant for a minute; in all honesty he was a little scared of heights. Raven saw his reluctance and said "It's Okay, if you don't want to go."

"It's just that I am a little scared of heights, you are the only one who knows this." He admitted.

Raven smiled and said while reaching for his hand "Everyone is scared of something…Come on, do you trust me?"

Roy smiled when she took his hand and allowed her to lead him to the ride. After waiting for a couple of minutes they sat opposite to each other in the ride. Roy looked nervous when the ride started; Raven smiled at him and held his hands, calming him. He looked grateful; they continued to stay in this comfortable silence whilst holding hands.

When they reached the top, Raven looked towards the side and saw the sun setting in the water but Roy had his eyes fixed on her; she looked so serene with the hair blowing slightly with the wind, the light of the sun lighting up her features and tiny smile on her face. Raven turned and saw him staring with a stupid smile; she blushed and said "What?"

"You just look so beautiful…thank you for spending time with me today." He said honestly.

"I actually had fun today...with you." She admitted.

He just smiled, soon the ride ended and they stepped out, Roy turned towards her and said "I think it's time to go." His eyes were not as happy as they had been, after a pause he added "Can I call you sometime?" she looked at him and said "For what?"

"To talk about the creation of universe, what else?" he said with a smirk.

Raven took out her phone and flipped it open and gave it to Roy, he gave his phone to her. Raven clicked her picture and entered her number in his phone; he did the same and gave her phone back to her. She hugged him lightly, it was over as soon as it began and she said while walking away "I'll see you soon, bye." Roy would have said something if his brain was still working and if his voice box was still functioning; his brain stopped when he felt her body against his, the smell of her lavender shampoo burned in his memory. And at the moment when he saw her walking away all he could think was that he wanted to see her again and that too soon. No hug from any other girl did this to him, she really was something else.

The red head opened his phone and looked at the picture Raven had taken of herself; she was smiling a little bit. He smiled and closed his phone, looking forward to meeting her again. He called his friends and told them that he was heading home. Roy got in his car and drove off; as he parked his car he heard his phone chime.

He opened his phone and saw a text from Raven it read 'So the creation of the universe." He grinned widely and texted back.

With Raven- (45 minutes ago)

She couldn't believe that she hugged him, the image that she had of him in her mind was changing, she was starting to believe that there could be more to him and maybe that he just needed a little push. She genuinely enjoyed her time with him today, but she also decided that she would like to be friends with him first and learn to trust him before they could be more.

She texted Kori that she was heading home, she drove off on her motorcycle, she loved the high she got when she rode her motorcycle, there was just something about the feeling of wind blowing on her face that she couldn't describe.

Raven entered her house and found a note from her father on the kitchen counter; it said that he would be out for some important work and that he loves her. Raven headed to her room and changed into her night wear.

She was reading when she got a call from Kori; she picked up and said "Hello Kori."

"Hello friend Raven, I have the most interesting news- Richard has asked me out on a date tomorrow." Raven smiled and said "That's great; he is actually a pretty great guy."

"Oh yes, that is true. I had fun at the carnival with him…I must apologize for leaving you alone."

"No, that's fine actually I had a great time with Roy today also." She admitted with a slight hint of pink on her cheeks.

"…Are you two becoming friends?"

"Yeah, we have become friends." Raven said, "You must at least give hima chance for something more." Kori said.

"I need time to trust him first…I don't want to get hurt again like last time." She said with pain in her voice remembering her ex-boyfriend.

"Not every boy is like Malchior, but I do understand why you are cautious…at least give him a chance to earn your trust, he genuinely seems to like you friend Raven."

"…you are right Kori. Do you need help for your date tomorrow?" she asked changing the topic.

"I was wondering if I could come to your house since Richard lives right next to your home. And could you help me with my hair?"

Raven smiled and said "Of course Kori…" Kori squealed over the phone and said "Good night friend. I shall see you tomorrow." Raven closed her phone after saying 'Goodnight'.

She let Kori's advice sink in and after a couple of minutes she texted Roy and was ecstatic when he replied and they spent the majority of the night talking on phone.

The next day, Raven helped Kori get ready for her date with Richard; they had a fun time talking about boys and getting ready. Richard came to her house to pick up Kori and the couple left happily. Raven sighed and picked up her phone, put some books in a small bag and grabbed her motorcycle keys. She told her dad that she was going to the library and left with earphones blasting music in her ears.

She spent the day finishing up her assignments and tried not to think about Roy but her attempts of the latter were futile as he kept texting her.


	5. Blossoming flowers of friendship

A few days went by, the friendship between Roy and Raven began to blossom, the latter was starting to trust him. They spent their free time together, the two groups started intermingling, Victor and Karen had began dating as had Richard and Kori; Jason was the only one who had not so easily blended in.

Roy looked at Richard and Kori, looking into each other' eyes lovingly and a memory resurfaced,

_Roy was exiting his class and heading over to his locker when he saw Kori near his locker instead of Raven, he walked over to her and asked with confusion lacing his voice "Hey Kori, what are you doing here?" _

_She smiled a little at him and said "Hello Roy…I was meaning to ask you something?" he nodded, wordlessly urging her to go on. She fidgeted with her fingers and said "It's about Richard."_

_Roy smiled, he knew that his friend was completely smitten with the red head, they had gone on a couple dates also. She asked after a pause "Is he not interested in me? Because he has not asked me out gain…and if is not interested please do not hesitate to tell me." Roy stumbled on his feet and immediately said "No…not at all. He really likes you Kori." Kori looked a little convinced and then thanked him and left. _

_Thankfully his next class was with Richard, he would speak to him about Kori and her insecurity. Roy entered the class and sat beside his friend and said in a whisper "So I spoke to Kori today…she thinks you are not interested in her." Richard exclaimed while whispering "What! It's not like that at all…I really like her." _

"_I know…and I told her that. But you need to reassure her, Richard." His friend nodded and they diverted their attention back to what the teacher was teaching after getting a few death glares from the teacher._

_That day Richard had asked Kori to become his girlfriend, hence silencing all his insecurities. _

"Bye, I am off to the library." Raven said getting up from their table in the lunch room. Before Roy could say anything Jason beat him to it and said "I'll come along." They got a series of 'Bye's' and a 'See you later'; Jason nonchalantly put his arm around her shoulder and they walked away. Roy saw this and for some reason his possessive side surfaced, he didn't like the closeness that Jason and Raven had, and they bonded on a level which was different from her friendship with him or even Kori. Kori had told him that Jason and Raven had been best friends since they had to do one project together and had been practically inseparable ever since.

A voice snapped him out of his thoughts and it was of Garth's "So how is your challenge coming along? Ready to give up your title as Mr. Lady Killer?"

Roy looked around the table and gave out a sigh of relief when he saw that Kori wasn't present there. He looked at Garth and with a smirk said "No way, I am in fact one step closer to winning…I have found the way to win."

Slowly Roy was starting to forget that he was doing this originally because of a challenge, being with Raven was becoming easier; he sought out her company frequently and he relished the time he could spend with her, they both knew that the friendship which had developed between them was a way of gaining each other's trust till they became something more.

His friends had also accepted Raven in their group, little flowers of friendship was growing between the two groups. Roy and Raven could often be seen together, she accompanied him when he went to the arcade and he went with her to a few poetry readings. In between classes they met at their lockers, secretly both of them were happy that their lockers were side by side, it gave them a chance to talk.

They got a few jealous looks from the bystanders, girls wanted Roy's attention which he a few weeks ago used to shower on them but now he turned away from them and looked at Raven only. A few guys had been waiting for the opportunity to ask Raven out and when they did she always turned them down, but she was spending time with Roy now; they gave the stink eye to the charming red head.

The next day Roy accompanied Raven to the bookstore, she had to replenish her supply of books. He looked around and found her in the section of mythology, he looked at the size of the books and turned to Raven and said "How do you read these? There are too many words."

Raven rolled her eyes and placed a heavy book in his hand and said "This is light reading."

They left the bookstore, talking and joking. They were walking to their cars when Roy spotted a park and said "Wanna go?" Raven nodded and they headed inside, Roy took her bag from her hands and placed it beside a tree and sat on one of the swings. Raven looked confused she always had preferred the quiet and her alone time, so even in her childhood she hadn't been to parks often nor had she played on swings much. Roy patted to the swing next to him; she headed towards him and sat beside him. She tried to copy the way he was swinging but was failing.

He chuckled a bit at her attempts of swinging and got up and stood behind her. Raven looked confused till she felt little pushes on her back. She looked at him over shoulder and asked "What are we doing?" he shrugged and said "Enjoying the peace and quiet."

"We could also do something big and productive with our time, so why this?" she asked, it was a question out of genuine curiosity; she was a productive person, she always had to do something useful. Her mind was always running and was hyper to do something.

"Because sometimes life is also about enjoying the little things…like swinging and enjoying a peaceful day with a friend." His reply shocked Raven, she had never thought of him as a deep thinker; actually she didn't know that 'thinking' existed in his dictionary.

She smiled at his words and he sat down back on his swing, they spent the day talking and enjoying the little pleasures like playing around like the children they once were and talking like the close friends they were becoming.


	6. A friend in need is a friend indeed

After a couple days in school, Raven was exiting her last class for the day when she saw Wally walking with his shoulders slumped and his eyes looked sad. She was about to walk away to her car but she couldn't stop herself from wanting to help Wally; Wally was really warm to her and he probably the first one to accept her in their group.

She sighed and walked over to him, he didn't notice her presence at first but she cleared her throat and asked "What's wrong Wally?" he turned towards her and gave a weak smile and said "Nothing, I am fine." But when she didn't look like she bought it, he sat on the pavement and sighed and said "It's Jinx." She copied him and asked "Did you guys have a fight?"

He nodded and said "It was over the stupidest things also…a girl started texting and flirting with me and I rejected her also; I didn't want to worry or upset Jinx so I didn't tell her but somehow she found out and got upset…she should trust me and know that I won't flirt with some other girl…*he looked at her* sorry for rambling." It was like a dam had burst; raven shook her head and said "Its fine…and I think I know why Jinx is upset." "Please tell me." Wally said.

"It's not because she doesn't trust you, she does…it's because you hid this from her which made her think that you don't trust her and that you may be lying. Girls hate it when their boyfriends hide things from them…so just apologize and all will be fine again." She explained.

He let her words sink in him and said happily "Thank you." Raven smiled a little bit and then headed to her motorcycle and drove off.

At night she got a text from Jinx saying "Thank you for making Wally understand…" and a couple of smiley faces. This was the point where a friendship between Raven and Jinx began to grow, the couple found that Raven was a great listener and a great company; they talked more to her and began spending time with her.


	7. Moving forward slowly but surely

A couple of weeks went by, Raven was sitting in the library and finishing up some of her pending assignments when a specific cinnamon scent overwhelmed her senses, only one word came into her mind with this scent 'Roy', she smiled at herself knowing that he was very close. And she was right within seconds he was next to her, with a happy and excited expression on his face. "You will never guess what happened today, Rae." He exclaimed happily.

Raven sighed she was tired of telling him to stop calling her that ridiculous pet name, he never listened to her. But deep down she was happy to see him so happy and she wanted to know the reason.

She nodded turning to face him, silently urging him to go on. He smiled and said "I made it to the archery team, you were right Rae." She smiled remembering that day in the carnival, she was also happy that he took her suggestion. "Will you go out with me tonight to celebrate?" he asked hopefully. She was about to reply when her phone buzzed, she opened it and frowned a little bit.

She got up and packed up her books and said "I would love to…but I promised Jason that I would go out with him tonight, maybe tomorrow night?" Roy felt a pang in his chest; he knew that Richard had plans with Kori tonight so Raven will be alone with Jason tonight.

Raven looked at his fallen expression and impulsively kissed his cheek and said "Congratulations on making the team, I will see you soon." With that she left, a blush covering her cheeks, she turned around and saw Roy holding his hand at the place she had kissed him and his skin was almost matching the color of his hair. Raven smirked at his reaction and headed to meet Jason.

The world had stopped for Roy when he felt her lips meet the skin of his cheek. Before he could have relished in the softness of her lips, she had pulled away from him and had left him standing there awestruck. He traced his fingers over the area and he could still feel a little warm. He blushed and grinned like an idiot. 'That girl is something else.' He thought whilst shaking his head.

He loved her friendship; she pushed him out of comfort zone and made him want to be a better person. He knew that he could trust her with anything and everything and could count on her to give him honest advice also. He had forgotten about the challenge today, the thought of Raven kissing his cheek and her going out alone with Jason occupied him.

The next day in school, Raven had her art class with Karen, Garth and Garfield. Their teacher had given them a project to complete in groups of four; and to Raven's surprise Karen, Garth and Garfield had asked her to join their group, she was really grateful as she didn't have to group with strangers.

"So who is doing what?" Garth asked.

"I can make the sketch, but I need two people who will paint and one who will make the layout." Karen said. "I can make the layout." Garfield volunteered. "I can paint." Raven and Garth said in unison, they looked at each other and snickered a little bit.

The work was laid out, everyone started to their assigned work, Raven was mixing paints to get her desired shade while Garth was taking out the paints, he said while taking out paints "So you and Roy, becoming serious?"

Raven's cheeks became a little pink and she tried to say in her normal monotone "We are just friends, nothing else."

"Oh please girl, have you seen the way he looks at you." Karen pitched in, Raven blushed harder and sighed "There is nothing between us and he flirts with every girl who is near him." She said dejectedly.

The other three looked sadly at the girl, they knew that their friend's playboy reputation would soon catch up with him; Garfield tried to do a little damage control and said "You really made a difference to him, he tried for the archery team when you told him to when we have been telling him to for years. He is changing for the better Raven, and all because of you." They wanted Roy to be happy and he looked happy with Raven, so the challenge be damned; their friend's happiness was more important.

She let their words sink in and offered them a grateful smile, Karen smiled back and said with playfulness in her voice "Maybe there isn't something between you both right now…but there could be in future." Raven blushed and her new friends laughed.

After a moment Raven gained her composure and grinned evilly and said "So how are things with you and Victor?" and this time it was Karen's turn to blush.


	8. Asking her outagain

Time was turning again, Roy and Raven were developing something which was more than friendship, but either of them refused to act on them. For Raven it was her fear of getting hurt which held her back and for Roy it was his fear of rejection acting as a hurdle.

"What if I get hurt again?" Raven said to her friends Kori, Jason and Richard. Over the days Raven and Richard had rekindled their a little strained friendship, he was there during her first heartbreak so he understood her fear.

"You have to give him a chance, little bird…and you know that if he hurts you he will also get hurt." Jason said, his demeanor becoming protective.

"Friend Jason is right, besides he has become your friend and has gained your trust and he obviously likes you…ever since he has been trying to pursue you he hasn't flirted or dated any girl." Kori stated.

"Kori is right…but I need to tell you something Raven…" Richard said fiddling with shirt and looking nervous, he wanted to tell Raven Roy's original intentions for pursuing her; she deserved the truth. She didn't deserve to be lied to and for the sake of their friendship he had to tell her before she falls too deep for him.

Before Raven could ask him to continue her phone buzzed and she opened her phone, Roy was calling her, Raven panicked a little but picke d up.

With Roy (one hour ago)

Wally groaned and hit his head on the table lightly while looking at his best friend. Roy was pacing his room and staring at his phone, or more specifically the picture of Raven she had taken when she had entered her phone number. "Dude you obviously like her…why don't you ask her out and put yourself out of your misery?" Wally said groaning.

"What if she rejects me?" Roy asked not stopping his pacing.

"Dude, we all have become friends with her and her friends, so I know that she will not reject you. We all have seen the way she looks at you when you are telling us some of your ridiculous stories and she sneaks glances at you sometimes while reading her books or completing her work…So trust me, she will not reject you." Garth said, entering the Roy's room.

'She likes me….' Roy thought happily.

Jinx entered his room and gave her boyfriend a sweet kiss before turning to Roy and asking "Are you doing this for the challenge?"

"Actually I had forgotten about the challenge until now." Roy said earnestly.

"Good because we all like her and I would hate to kick your ass for hurting her." Victor said entering with his girlfriend, Karen and with Garfield right behind them.

"Yeah, but Victor won't be the only…Jason already gave me the talk." Roy mumbled under his breath remembering his talk with Jason.

_Roy was heading back from the field after practicing his archery, when he saw Jason leaning on a wall near the exit. He approached the dark haired boy and said "Hey Jason, what's up?"_

_Jason looked up and his green eyes looked almost piercing in the red headed boy's soul, he said in a serious tone "So are you serious about Raven? Because if you are just trying to play her then I suggest that you back off…she doesn't trust easily and I don't want her to get hurt." _

_Roy nodded and said "I would never hurt her, I promise." Jason nodded and put a hand over his shoulder in a friendly way. "Good." He smiled and the boys headed out, talking about trivial things and slowly developing a friendship. _

"Dude, just text her." Garfield said

"No call her…" Karen interrupted and grabbed Roy's phone from his hand and dialed Raven's number. He tried to reach the phone but the boys were holding him back.

Suddenly they heard a soft _hello, _the room became silent and Karen tossed the phone back to Roy, who looked nervous, he stepped in his balcony and closed the door behind him.

"Hey Rae, it's me Roy."

_I know that Roy, I have your number. _Roy face palmed in frustration, he couldn't form words correctly. He just was very nervous.

"So are you…um…free tonight?"

_Yeah, why?_

He took a deep breath and said "Look, I know that you don't trust easily but I was hoping that you had changed your mind about me and that…you will honor me by going out with me tonight."

After a pause he heard a soft _What time?_

Roy couldn't believe his ears, he jumped in happiness and gripped the railing of the balcony and said "I will be there t0 pick you up at 7:30, beautiful."

He finished his conversation and headed inside and said happily to his friends "We are going on a date tonight." His friends cheered with happiness for his friend.


	9. Dress to Impress

After a while his friends left and Roy started planning a date and choosing his clothes for his special evening. He took out several shirts and tried them on but none of them felt right, he stood in front of his mirror and mused with his hair, not getting it right.

Roy never thought that he would ever feel so nervous over a date, he was usually confident and it was the girls who were nervous; but Raven changed something in him, he was enchanted by this girl and he knew that he didn't deserve her. He knew that he could have someone so much better but still she chose him, chose to let him in. He had seen a side of Raven that he was sure didn't exist, and she had made him something which he was sure he couldn't be.

A knock at his door pulled him out of his thoughts, he said "Come in." after a moment his adoptive parents walked in, his father Oliver stepped towards him and said with a smile "We got a call from school today; they told us that you have real talent for archery and have made it to the team…how come you never told us?" Roy ran his hand through his hair and said "I played an archery stall at the carnival and a friend told me that I should try out for the team."

He said remembering that day at the carnival, him and Raven becoming friends, him winning a bunny and giving it to Raven, her being impressed by his skill and their time at the Ferris wheel and that brief hug.

Dinah, his adoptive mother noticed the far off look in his eyes and said with a smirk "Was it a special friend?"

Roy snapped out of his daze and began to blush, he didn't say anything. Oliver raised an eyebrow at the condition of his room and said "Are you going somewhere tonight?"

"I…uh…have a date tonight." Roy admitted

"And is it with your 'special friend'?" Oliver asked smirking. Roy blushed harder and nodded slightly, his adoptive parents chuckled lightly. Dinah approached him and asked "Then what's the problem?"

"I don't know what to wear…I really like her and I don't want to screw it up." He admitted with a sigh and sat on edge of his bed.

Oliver and Dinah looked at each other and then at Roy, they had never seen him like this, usually he was so confident about dating and this may be the first time Roy was nervous and unsure. Dinah smiled and whispered in her husband's ear "He must really like her…go talk to him and give him some advice. I'll pick something out."

Oliver smiled and nodded; he sat near his adoptive son and said "So tell me about this girl."

Roy smiled a tint of pink coating his cheeks and said "She is unlike anyone I have ever m et, she is different than me, and she likes to read, write and paint sometimes. She is calm, collected and very wise…she doesn't show her true face to many people, she always has a hood on but I got to know who she really is…she didn't like me at all when I first talked to her but slowly we became friends. She motivated me to try out for the team and get out of my comfort zone. She shows me a different perspective on things and isn't afraid to call me out on things…but I don't know how to impress her. What if the date goes all wrong and she doesn't even want to be my friend anymore?"

He said the last part with a slight panic in his voice; as Oliver listened to his ward talk so dreamily about a girl, he could sense that Roy's feelings for her ran deep and true. He knew that Roy was a bit of a player and to see him talk so lovingly about a girl was a little shocking, he realized that this girl changed his son.

As Roy said the last part, Oliver could hear the slight tone of panic and he laughed a little and put his hand on the eighteen year olds shoulder and said "Roy, just be yourself, your true self…as you said that she didn't like you before but then you both became friends, so she knows you and you are a great person, just let her see that and embrace the good changes she brought in your life. You will be great and you know…the way you are right now was me before I went for my first date with Dinah. So I know how you are feeling. Just take a deep breath and relax a bit."

Roy smiled gratefully and took a deep breath, after a couple of moments Oliver added "So tell me more about her."

Roy smiled dreamily and said "She really is prettiest girl I have seen, she has long black hair and her eyes are the most beautiful amethyst color. I have never seen eyes like Raven's and her smile is so precious because it is rare, she doesn't smile often but I think she should because she looks very beautiful when she does, when she smiles at me I feel like the luckiest guy on this planet." He turned and saw the blonde older man staring at him with a smile and an expression which he couldn't recognize.

"So her name is Raven, huh…Pretty name." Oliver said and Roy just nodded.

"You are in so much trouble…you are so in love with her." Oliver observed with a smile and then added after seeing Roy blush off his roots "She really must be a special girl then."

If it was possible then Roy blushed more and nodded, he got playful nudges from his adoptive father. Before he could say anything thankfully Dinah came with a turquoise t-shirt, black denim jeans, a leather jacket and grey converse. She smiled at her adoptive son and said "Wear these…you will look great." Roy smiled gratefully, took the clothes and ran into his bathroom to get changed.

Oliver turned to Dinah and said "Your son is in love." Dinah looked at him and said "What?"

"Oh yeah, you should have heard him talk about her. I have never seen him like this; I think it's nice that he is leaving his player days behind." Oliver said chuckling.

"I think all it takes is the right girl for a player to change; I would know I found you." Oliver said lightly kissing his wife's cheek.

"I hope everything goes well." Dinah said and the couple walked out of their son's room. Roy emerged after a couple of minutes and saw himself in the mirror, he set his hair again. He grabbed his phone, wallet and car keys and then jogged out of his room only to jog back in and spray his perfume on himself. He checked himself again in the mirror and then headed out to pick Raven up.

He met his parents on the way and he thanked them for their help tonight. "Have fun tonight, son." Oliver said and Dinah nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, tell us how it goes." Dinah clarified and Roy let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding.

Roy blushed a little again and shook hands with Oliver and gave a small kiss to Dinah on her cheek and headed out. He got in his black Mercedes and checked the time. He would be on time; he played some music and made sure that his car was clean. He smiled like an idiot while driving, on the way he stopped at a flower shop and bought a few blue orchids, knowing they were her favorite ones. He got back in his car and then drove off to Raven's house.


	10. Their first date

He parked his car and stepped out, checking his hair and attire again. He took a deep breath and picked up the flowers and walked to the entrance of her house and rang the doorbell. This was the first time he was picking up a girl from her house; usually he avoided doing this because if he did then the girls would get the idea that he is serious about them.

After a while the door opened and a tall man emerged, he had black hair and muscular built. His age was shown on his face by a few wrinkles, his eyes were sharp and it looked like he was observing Roy seriously. There was something about him that intimidated Roy.

Roy gulped nervously and straightened himself and offered the man a smile and said "Hello Mr. Roth, I am Roy…here to pick Raven up." Roy extended his hand and the older man shook it and said "Oh yes…come inside she will be down shortly."

Roy nervously headed inside the house after the older man; he tugged on his collar and took a few deep breaths, calming himself down.

The house was beautifully furnished, a few statues and paintings adorned the house made from white and golden marble, the house was done in Victorian-style architecture and it looked beautiful, there was one curved staircase leading to the next floor, the floor was covered with carpets, the stairs being of no exception. He turned and saw Trigon standing beside him and observing him carefully. Roy smiled nervously and said "You have a beautiful home, sir." He was hoping he said the right thing.

And it seems like he did because Trigon's eyes became soft and he said "Thank you, my wife designed it, she really did have a good taste."

Before Roy could say anything, Trigon narrowed his eyes at him and said "Raven is my only daughter, she is the most precious thing to me. So if you hurt her… but I am sure that you won't. Yes?" Roy's fear returned and gulped nervously and nodded. Trigon smiled deviously and said "Good."

And before he could scare Roy any further his eyes locked onto his daughter who was walking down the steps and was making her way over to them.

Roy couldn't take his eyes off Raven, she looked absolutely stunning. Her hair was pinned back so that her flick framed her face; she had very light makeup, smokey eyes, a little bit of blush and lip gloss. Her hair flowed down her back; she was wearing a high- low dress, till her waist the fabric was black in color and below her waist it was aquamarine in color, in front the dress was cut off at mid thigh and the back of the dress reached the ground, she wore black heels whose straps were tied just below her calves. And she completed her look with a golden heart shaped locked which touched her dress.

Raven smiled at his reaction and walked over to him, he snapped out of his daze and gave her the flowers and said "You look very beautiful." She took the flowers from him and said "My favorite, you remembered…thank you." She set them in a nearby vase and turned towards her father and said "Bye dad."

Then she walked towards Roy and said "Shall we?" he smiled and took her hand in his and started walking while her father said from behind "You two have fun and Roy remember what I said."

Roy smiled nervously and hurried her to his car, he opened the door for her and she said "Chivalry isn't dead at all." He smirked and got inside the driver's seat and said "I like to think that a few guys keep it alive."

He started the engine and they drove off, she stayed quiet for a little while knowing that it was making him go crazy that she wasn't asking where they were going, finally when it looked like he was going to burst she asked "So where are we going?"

"Finally Rae, does this mean so little to you that you didn't ask before." He said gripping the steering wheel.

She laughed a little and said "Stop being such a drama queen and answer my question."

"We are going to an awesome restaurant beside the beach." He said happily.

After a couple of minutes, Roy briefly looked at Raven and said "Your dad is really scary…I have never been more scared before." Raven snickered and said "His aura can be like that, but I think he was just messing with you and he called you by your real name so he likes you a little."

"What does that mean?" Roy asked clearly intrigued.

"When he first met Jason, he didn't like him at all and he gave him a ridiculous pet name, he started calling Jason by his real name when started liking him." Raven explained.

Roy smirked and said "Well I can be pretty charming…even your dad couldn't resist my charms like you couldn't."

Raven blushed a little and give him a playful nudge and said "You know you should try and get out of your dream world, you know just try."

He laughed and they soon reached the restaurant. He parked the car and opened Raven's door for her and offered a cheeky grin. She smiled at him and got out of the car, he offered her his arm and she took it while shaking her head. They walked inside the restaurant hand-in-hand and walked to a table overlooking the sea, which was reserved from him.

They sat opposite to each other and ordered their food, and then Roy leaned towards Raven a little and said "I was actually kind of surprised when you said yes to a date with me."

"When you asked me all those weeks back, I thought that you wanted to go out with me because of some challenge or something that's why I refused…but now I trust you enough to know that you are not playing me." Raven said honestly.

Roy gulped again, he wanted to tell Raven about that challenge which initially got his attention towards her but he couldn't risk her not trusting him and leaving him. He smiled shakily and said "You really do look stunning tonight." Raven blushed and thanked him.

Then after a couple of moments, Roy turned towards her and asked "Whose picture do you have in your locket? I hope it's not of some guy or I might get jealous." He said the last part half serious.

Raven smiled and a little and picked the locket in her hand and said "I have my mom's picture in this locket…she died in an accident when I was six years old."

Roy looked apologetic and he said "Sorry." Raven shook her head and said "It's no problem, besides it was a long time ago."

"I am adopted, I don't remember my mother. I just remember my dad a little bit." He admitted. Raven smiled and reached over the table to hold his hand, he smiled at her sweet gesture.

"But my adoptive parents are great, I really feel like a part of a family with them. They are quiet supportive." He added.

They ate dinner, talking about themselves and other things. Raven couldn't remember last when she spoke so much about herself, she usually was a listener and was a little protective about her secrets but being with Roy seemed natural and easy. She felt comfortable and at ease with him.

After dinner they were walking on the beach while holding hands when Roy turned towards Raven and said "Rae, I know that there is another reason for your refusal to a date with me and if you are comfortable with telling me then I would like to know."

Raven sighed and turned to look at him and said "…my ex-boyfriend came into my life when I needed someone and I fell for him instantly but after a couple of weeks I got to know that he was just using me…and that's when I closed myself off from guys and even the idea of dating. Trusting became hard for me and I knew that I couldn't get hurt again, hence my reluctance and refusal." He clenched his jaw and balled his fists, she didn't deserve this; she was such an amazing person, she deserved happiness. And he voiced just that, Raven just smiled and squeezed his hand a bit.

He saw that she looked sad and he gave her an encouraging one sided hug. She smiled and they continued to stroll when Roy suddenly got an idea and said "Dance with me."

They stopped and she turned to look at him and said "Dance? I can't dance and besides there is no music." He grinned and took out his phone and played 'In my veins' and pulled the girl closer to him and they started dancing.

She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her slim waist. They both said in unison "I have always loved this song."

Roy grinned and pulled her a little closer to him and said "Then this can be our song."

She just smiled and rested her head on his shoulder as they continued to dance in the moonlight with the soft sounds of waves crashing on the surface. After a while Roy looked down at Raven and said "Come on we have to get you home, I don't want to see your dad angry at me." She just laughed and they walked to his car, they talked while he drove her home.

They reached her drive-in and he turned to her and said "I had a great time tonight; maybe we can do this again sometime."

She smiled at him and said "Yeah, we should." There was a small pause between them, Roy's gaze lingered on her eyes and then on her round, pouty lips. She saw his gaze linger at her lips and she leaned towards him a little, hoping that he would get the message. He smiled at her and then leaned the rest of the way and captured her lips in a loving and passionate kiss.

Their kiss started heating up, one of his hands was in her hair and the other was at the small of her back, pulling her close. Raven's hand was tangled in his red fiery locks and the other was caressing his cheek. White electric shock coursed through their bodies, they felt completely in bliss together. It seemed like the world was fading with the two of them left alone, together.

Roy tilted his head and deepened the kiss, pulling her closer to him in his car. He enjoyed the way her lips moved against his and her taste, she tasted like cool water and tea and that alone was enough to intoxicate him.

She smiled when she felt him deepen the kiss, he tasted like mint and cinnamon and she relished in his taste; there was something comforting about his closeness. The way he wrapped his muscular arms around her made her feel safe and loved.

They only parted when they felt that they might turn blue from the lack of oxygen, they were panting and Roy held her face close and whispered "Wow…that was…"

"Yeah…it was…" Raven said in between breaths.

"I'll see you soon…bye." Raven added pulling her hands away from his hair and his cheek. She was pulling away but he kept his hold on her and said "Dream of me tonight."

He started leaning in again, she smirked and kissed his nose instead and said "You wish." She got up and stepped out of his car, he grumbled from the lack of lip action and said "Such a tease."

She entered her house and walked up to her room after meeting her father. She closed her bedroom door and leaned against it and sighed dreamily looking at the white bunny Roy had won for her.

She quickly changed into her night wear and messaged Kori, who had messaged her probably ten times over her date. Raven gave her best friend all the details and told her that she had a great time with Roy.

Roy grinned like an idiot and drove home, remembering their kiss and the way she tasted and felt against him. He parked his car and entered his house; he entered his room and saw himself in the mirror. His hair was disheveled, probably because she ran her hand through them and he had marks of lip gloss on his nose and his lips. And for the first time he didn't mind his disheveled hair.

He smiled and shook his head, remembering the wonderful evening. He changed into his night wear and got inside his covers, a smile never leaving his face. He just smiled and looked forward to meeting the girl of his affections again.


	11. Encounter with an old flame,

The next morning Roy woke up happily, the events which transpired last night still running through his head. He whistled happily and got ready, since it was Sunday and he had finished his assignments, with the help of Raven of course. He was completely free today.

He flipped his phone open and contemplated texting Raven, he didn't want to come off as needy or clingy but he wanted to speak to her, it was weird not speaking to her as he spoke to her everyday even if was for 5 minutes. And in these two months he had gotten used to her, he could only hope that she had gotten used to him.

He took a deep breath and texted her "Hey Rae, what are you doing today? Wanna hangout?"

After a few minutes her reply came- "Hey…I am at a poetry reading at Dark Deep."

"Can I join?" he texted back with a smiley. She just replied "Sure."

That was all he needed, he quickly grabbed his wallet and car keys and headed towards his car. He sat in his car and it faintly smelled of jasmine and tea, he smiled as this scent was Raven's. He remembered their kiss, and remembered her taste. He smiled like a lovesick idiot and drove off to meet the girl of his thoughts.

He arrived at Dark deep and started looking around for Raven; he saw her sitting on a corner table with a huge book which had captured his attention. He walked over to her and sat beside her but still she didn't look up from her book. On the table a half drunken cup of hot tea and a glass of iced tea were kept. Roy looked at the glass of the cold drink and wondered who it was for he knew that Raven only drank tea.

Roy waved his hand in front of her face but she was so immersed in her book that she didn't look up. Roy felt a pang of jealousy as all of Raven's attention was captured by the book, he pouted a little and then smirked when an idea came to his mind; he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on the corner of Raven's mouth.

Raven looked up, ready to smack whoever who dared to do this; but when she Roy's smiling face all her anger left her and she closed her book. She smiled and said "When did you reach here?"

"I came like 20 minutes ago…but you were so involved with your book that you didn't even notice me." He pouted a little and crossed his arms over his chest. She just laughed and said "Stop being such a drama queen…here I ordered iced tea for you."

He smiled at her sweet gesture and thanked for the iced tea with an innocent kiss on her cheek and started drinking. They sat in comfortable silence with the background of some poetry being read, after a while Raven got up and said "I have to get another book…I will be back in a few minutes."

Roy smiled and watched her walk away, his eyes never leaving her. He saw her head to a book shelf and search for some book. She leaned up trying to reach to the top shelf but she stumbled on her feet a little and was about to fall; Roy immediately got up and started walking quickly to her when he saw somebody else catch her.

Raven turned around and saw icy blue-grey eyes and long eyes lashes; she immediately recognized whose eyes she was looking at. She freed herself from the man's grasp but he held her hand and said "It's been a long time…my sweet Raven."

She immediately put some distance between them and said harshly "What do you want?"

He smiled and stepped towards her and said "Is it so hard to believe that I wanted to meet an old friend."

"We were never friends." She hissed. "Because we were so much more..." he countered and stepped closer to her. After a short pause he asked "Want to meet later? We can rekindle old feelings." Raven said in anger "There are no feelings."

Roy saw the whole exchange and an ugly feeling bubbled up in the pit of his stomach when he saw the white haired boy leaning close to Raven. He saw that she looked sad and uncomfortable; he was at her side in second. He smiled at her and slid his hand around her waist and said "There you are babe, come on we have to go." He kissed her temple and she eased up a little and offered him a thankful smile and said "Yeah, we should go…the book I wanted isn't here anyway."

They walked out of the café without turning back and with Roy's arm around Raven's waist, as soon as they walked out Raven took a deep breath and said in monotone "Thanks for that." He was a little confused; he wasn't used to hearing her talk in such a dull voice since they had become friends. "Rae, are you okay?" they sat on a bench, he turned to study her carefully but she didn't look at him even once.

"It's Raven…and yes I am fine." She said without looking at him. Now he was convinced that something was wrong, she hadn't corrected him in a long time and she wasn't looking at him.

Before he could say anything she added "I don't know if I can do this." And she turned to face him, her face was stoic, emotionless but her eyes betrayed her emotionless demeanor, they held pain and mistrust.

"What can't you do?" he asked, his eyes practically piercing into her. She sighed "This…whatever's between us."

He was hurt for a moment and then it turned to anger and he asked "Why can't you do it? You were perfectly fine when I came here and then that stranger…."Something clicked in his brain and realization dawned upon him and he said "He was the one who broke your trust. He is your ex-boyfriend…right?" All his anger left him, leaving only sadness and sympathy in its wake.

Raven sighed and nodded "Yeah that was Malchior…seeing him again made me remember everything…his lies, the heartbreak."

After a slow pause she looked up at him, he looked sad and sympathetic. Raven added "I can't get hurt again…I can't-"

Roy interrupted her and asked "Do you enjoy spending time with me?" Raven nodded, he caressed her right cheek and said looking into her eyes "Do you trust me?" after a slow pause Raven nodded. Roy smiled sweetly and said "Then trust me when I say this- I will never hurt you Raven."

Raven finally met with his honey brown eyes and smiled a little bit before leaning in and capturing his lips in a loving, trusting kiss. After a couple of moments she started to pull away but Roy snaked his hands around her waist to keep her with him and deepened the kiss, she smiled and gripped his strong, muscular shoulders, returning his kiss.

His lips moved against hers in a possessive and desperate way, Roy realized that he could have lost her and that thought burned him. He knew that he had to tell her about the challenge and that it meant nothing to him anymore; he had to tell her the truth about what initially got his attention to her but he couldn't risk her walking away.

They broke apart slowly and Roy pulled her towards him, crushing her to his chest and said into her hair "Don't even think about leaving me again." She pulled away and looked into his eyes; she cupped his face with her hands and said "I won't."

He smiled and hugged her again; they slowly parted and walked away hand in hand. Roy turned towards her and asked "So what do you want to do for our second date?" he raised his eyebrows mischievously. She just rolled her eyes at him but a tiny smile graced her features.


	12. Villain makes an appearance

The next day in school, they whole group was sitting together in the cafeteria during their lunch break. Raven and Roy were sitting side by side with a dreamy smile on Roy's face and a slight tint of pink on Raven's cheeks. Their friends noticed and Wally said with a smirk "So how was your date?" If it was possible then Roy smiled wider and Raven's cheeks turned a little pinker.

"It was nice." Roy said nonchalantly. Before anybody could ask anymore question Raven got up and said "I have to go to the library." She turned to see Roy who was a little pouty at the prospect of her leaving and said "I'll see you later."

She started leaving but was stopped by Kori who said "Friend even we wish to accompany you." With that Jason, Kori and Richard walked with her to the library, obviously asking her for the details in private.

"So…tell us everything." Victor said grinning at his friend. Roy smiled and leaned back on his chair and said "It was…awesome."

"You need to give us more than that." Garfield whined childishly. "Where did you take her?" Karen asked. "Did you kiss her?" Garth and Jinx asked in unison.

Roy smiled and said "I got her, her favorite flowers…we went to that new restaurant by the beach and then we walked by the water…and we talked…a lot." He decided that some details like their dance under the moonlight was just for them, and that it would be special if only they knew it.

"Did you kiss her?" Garth asked again smugly.

"Oh please, Garth…gentlemen don't kiss and tell." Roy said with a teasing grin. Jinx smirked at him and said "That's great…but do you know any gentlemen."

Roy just laughed, they all made jokes and laughed for a while and then Wally asked "So are you serious about her?"

"I like her a lot and we have gone on two dates…." Roy was interrupted by Karen who asked "When did you have your second date?"

He smugly said "Yesterday." "Wow dude, you were nervous about your first date with Raven and then you had your second dude also…first one must have been awesome then." Victor observed with a smile.

"So you gonna move forward with her or…." Jinx asked. "I really want her to be my girlfriend…but isn't it too soon…what if I scare her off?" he panicked a little.

His friends snickered at his panic and said "Dude, you won't scare her off…maybe first start by asking her to prom?" Karen suggested.

"That's a good idea, and prom is in two weeks." Roy said. After a couple more minutes Wally asked with seriousness in his voice "Have you told her about the challenge?"

Roy frowned a little and said "I haven't…how can I tell her that a challenge to win the title of 'Lady Killer' was the thing which brought my attention to her; and the challenge was to make her fall in love with me with the deadline being of Senior Prom…she won't trust me again, she will think that everything I did was because of the challenge…and that I am not serious about her and that I was just playing her."

His friends frowned a little and looked at the ground, Victor broke the silence and said "Isn't it better if you explain everything to her soon…and make her aware about the sincerity of your feelings for her. She may be angry with you at first but by how much I know Raven, she will forgive you if you be honest with her."

"Yeah, you have to be honest with her before you both start a relationship." Karen added.

"Yeah, you are right…I will try to tell her soon." Roy said with a sigh. None of them noticed the person who walked past them and heard everything. She sat on the next table and said to herself with a evil grin "Well well, wouldn't Raven love to know what originally brought the resident playboy, Roy's attention towards a nerd like herself and that too on prom night…it seems like I have some planning to do."


	13. Meeting his parents

In the next week, Roy and Raven went out on a couple more dates. And now prom was only five days away; Raven was now in front of Roy's house, she was supposed to pick him up for a movie they were going out for (since Roy's house was near the theatre it made sense that Raven picked him up).

She rang the doorbell and after a couple of moments a beautiful, blonde older women opened the door and gave her a soft smile, Raven smiled a little and said politely "Hello, I am Raven…here to pick Roy up for a movie." The women's eyes lit up when Raven introduced herself and she smiled widely and extended her hand to shake hers and said "I'm Roy's mother…please come in. I am sure he will down soon."

Raven firmly shook her hand and followed the women inside the house. The house was massive; there was a water fountain in the middle with two curved staircases clad with carpet behind it, leading to the upper floor. The house was beautifully furnished and the style of architecture was modern. Raven looked at the older woman and said "You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Queen."

She smiled at Raven and said "Thank you…and please its Dinah."

"So, Roy talks a lot about you." Dinah said after a pause, smirking.

Raven blushed a little and nervously tucked a lock of hair behind her hair and said "Oh, I hope everything good." "Oh absolutely…and from what he tells me you really have made a positive impact on him. So I guess I should thank you for that." Dinah said with a warm smile. Raven turned crimson and said "I really didn't do anything big…it was all him."

She just laughed and said "It may not seem significant but it is…I hope he is good to you as well."

Raven smiled a little bit and said "He is a perfect gentleman…" she was interrupted by a deep male voice which said "Honey, have you seen my navy blue tie?"

Dinah just smiled and turned to Raven and said "Please excuse me, I'll just be back." Dinah climbed up the stairs and entered a room.

Meanwhile Raven flipped open her phone and texted Roy, "Hey, I am in your house. Where are you?"

After a couple of minutes his reply came "I will just be down in a couple of minutes, Babe…don't miss me too much." He added a wink-y emoticon at the end. Raven rolled her eyes at the pet name, she had told him not to call her that, but it was all half heartedly; she actually liked it when he gave her pet names but he didn't need to know that.

After a couple of moments a blonde man emerged with Dinah, Raven guessed that, that was Roy's adoptive father, Oliver Queen. He walked up to her and said with a smile "I'm Roy's father…pleased to meet you. Roy tells me a lot about you."

She smiled in return and said "Hello Mr. Queen, I am Raven…nice to meet you too."

And before they could start with their conversation Roy hurried down the stairs while saying "Sorry I am late." Roy walked up to his adoptive parents, they looked at him and smiled teasingly "Well Roy, she exactly is how you described her to be…quite beautiful." Oliver said nudging Roy discreetly. The two teenagers blushed off their roots and before the teasing could continue Roy said with a nervous smile "Oh we better leave…don't wanna get late for the movie."

His parents just laughed and Dinah said "You two have a good time…and Raven please come again; we would love to spend some time with you."

Raven just smiled and nodded, Roy who was still as red as his hair quickly said his bye's and left hurriedly while holding Raven's hand.

Dinah turned to her husband and said "I like her…what do you think?"

He pulled her close to him and said "I like her too…and she seems genuinely interested in him."

Meanwhile, Roy had grabbed Raven's hand and they were walking towards Raven's motorcycle. When they were at a distance from the house, Roy stopped and turned towards raven and said "I'm sorry…I hope they didn't make you feel uncomfortable." Raven gave a gentle squeeze to his hand and said "They were actually quite nice…I liked them."

Roy gave out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding and said "Well that's great…" Raven interrupted him and said with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smile "They told me that you speak a lot about me…care to tell me what."

Roy tugged at his shirt collar nervously and looked at Raven; she was wearing a blue and white pin stripe jump suit and her hair was left, they cascaded down till her waist in waves. Coincidentally Roy was wearing a blue button down t-shirt with blue jeans. He looked at Raven with a smile and said "Rae, we are matching."

Raven then took a moment to study hers and his clothes and said smiling at him "So we are…come on we are going to get late."

They reached her motorcycle and Raven pulled out to helmets, she gave the extra one to Roy who blinked and said "I can't wear it…my hair will get messed up." After a moment his words sank into her and she laughed and said "Wear it…Mr. Vanity." He took the helmet from her whilst grumbling under his breath and then sat behind Raven.

Raven fired up her motorcycle and said while looking over her shoulder "Hold on tight."

Roy smirked and said "That I can do." He snaked his hands around Raven's waist tightly and rested his head on her shoulder with a stupid grin on his face. Raven just smiled and shook her head and sped off to their destination.

Roy would agree that the chance of holding on to Raven tightly , so that her back was against his chest and resting his head on her shoulder totally made up for the fact that he was going to have helmet hair.


	14. Prom proposal

The next day, only four days remained until prom and Roy was to ask Raven today. They both were currently in the field for after school practice with their friends. Roy was practicing his aim, Richard and Wally were competing at the track and Victor was playing basketball with Jason while Jinx, Karen, Kori and Raven were sitting on the benches.

Roy looked at Raven and blushed a little; he smiled and reviewed his plan in his head. He nodded at his friend, everyone but of course raven knew about his plan.

At that moment Karen and Kori said something to Raven to which she nodded at and began walking towards the exit of the field, meanwhile the others approached them and Jason asked "So everything is set?" Roy nodded and Wally pitched in "So we are going to leave now…tell us how it goes." And Kori encouraged "I hope that friend Raven will say yes."

The others nodded and gave him encouraging smiles, with that Roy took a deep breath and picked up his special arrow and his bow and trailed after Raven. She had just reached the exit when Roy aimed his arrow and the door and shot and then ran after her, reaching her in moments.

Raven was startled when she felt an arrow whiz past her hand, she was about to turn around and shout at the person who did this but she stopped when she saw at what the arrow had pierced into.

It was a big, black colored chart paper with a few words written on it in silver-_ Aiming to the heart of the matter…Will you be my prom date?_ The arrow had pierced in a tiny heart between the words, she turned and saw Roy on his one knee with his arms spread out and with a red rose in his mouth, he was sporting a loving, huge grin on his face, his eyes held a question.

Raven smirked and bent down to hug him; he took the rose out of his mouth and wrapped his outstretched arms around her and she whispered in his ear "Yes." He gave a sigh of relief and hugged her closer to him. They parted and Roy softly brushed his lips against Raven's neck and she shivered a little, their faces were still close and Roy's arms were around her waist and hers were around his neck. They were still kneeling and raven then decided to get up but Roy had other plans, he pulled Raven back to him and she fell on him, knocking both of them down in the process.

Roy was now on the floor with his legs spread out in front of him and he was supporting himself on his hand. Raven was lying on him, her face was near his collarbone and she was clutching his shirt and Roy's other arm was draped around her. Raven blushed at their position and looked into his enchanting eyes; Roy chuckled before leaning and capturing her lips in a loving kiss.

Raven's hands fisted in his shirt and his one hand was around her waist, he slowly leaned forward and tangled his other hand in her silky hair. Roy tilted his head and was deepening the kiss when they heard a soft, alerting cough.

The pair opened their eyes though they weren't sure when they closed their eyes, they turned and saw Richard and Kori snickering at them. They broke their kiss and scrambled to get up, the blushing couple turned towards their friends and Richard smirked and crossed his arms around his chest and said "So I take it as she said yes." Roy blushed but nodded, Kori turned towards Raven and said happily "We must go to the mall and pick out our dresses for the dance."

Raven sighed, she hated going to the mall but agreed. Richard smiled at the girls and then turned to his red headed friend and said "Dude, we both are the only one who still haven't gotten a tux…we can go today." Roy agreed with his friend.

Kori gave a sweet to kiss to her boyfriend and said to the boys "Bye…we shall see you later."

Roy stepped up and kissed Raven lightly and said "I'll see you later." With that the two girls left leaving the two boys with a dreamy smile on their faces.

After a couple of minutes Roy turned towards his friend and said grumbling "You had to interrupt us at that moment…didn't you?"

Richard laughed and said "That was payback for interrupting me and Kori, remember?." The boys laughed and then left the field talking about the girls who had captured their hearts.


	15. Loving moments between them

One day before Prom,

Roy was hanging out with Raven after school, he was currently in her house and he was deeply grateful to god that Raven's father was gone for work and he wouldn't be back until nightfall. Only one man scared Roy this much and that Raven's father. He shivered at the memory of their last encounter.

Raven led him to her room and said "Wait here…I'll get something for you…don't snoop around." She said the last part while narrowing her eyes at him, almost contemplating if it was wise to leave him alone in her room. He half heartedly glared at her and said "Please Rae…I am not a child." Raven scoffed and said "Wanna try that again?" he glared a bit at her and she laughed and left.

Roy was alone in Raven's room; he was alone in the room of the girl whom he liked a lot…_of course_ he was going to look around. The room was quite big, there were navy blue and turquoise colored walls and hard wood floors, and there was desk at the corner of the room with a laptop and some school books on it. Two big bookshelves all stocked with books adorned the walls near her desk. On her dresser a few trinkets were kept and a vanity mirror was on the wall adjacent to it. He looked around and saw a deep brown wooden door on the left corner of her room and on the right side of the bed instead of a blue wall there was a bay window with golden and purple curtains.

In the middle of her room was a king- sized bed with indigo and white throw pillows and indigo colored comforter, the bed looked comfy and inviting.

Without a second thought Roy kicked of his shoes and jumped on her bed and relished in its comfort and its softness. He loved the fact that it smelled like Raven, a scent which was reminded him of lavender and vanilla; his favorite. He put his hands behind his head and looked around and saw a black happy and a sad mask on one wall (like the drama ones).

Roy shifted a little; something was poking at his skin. He moved his hand around and pulled out a familiar stuffed toy from the bed and looked at it. It was a white bunny with a purple cape, the one which he had won for her at the carnival; the day they had started over and had become friends. He smiled at the memory and the fact that she had kept it and that too near her on her bed.

Before he could think any further Raven came in with a tray decorated with two drinks and a few plates of food. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow, he just smiled. Raven set the tray on the bed and urged him to make room for her and the food. He shifted and looked at her with a genuine charming smile on his face and said while holding the bunny "So you kept this after all."

Raven smiled and took the bunny from her hand and said "Of course I did…you won it for me. The carnival is one of the best memories I have and that to because of you. And this bunny reminds me of that day and of…you."

Roy was speechless, now he really didn't have the courage or the heart to tell her that on the carnival he spent time with her because he wanted to win a challenge. He looked at into her beautiful eyes and got lost into those enchanting pools of amethyst.

After a couple of moments Raven cleared her throat and diverted her gaze with a blush on her cheeks and said "Come on eat up…sorry I am not a great cook. This is all I could manage without burning the kitchen."

Roy smiled at her and then looked at the tray, they were fries, fish tacos and chips and two glasses of iced tea. He looked at her and said "It looks great…and I love fish tacos."

They spent the day together and when it was time for Roy to leave, he turned to Raven and said "So I will pick you at 7 tomorrow…and there is an after party at Richard's house. Do you wanna go with me for that also?"

She walked towards him and said "Of course, I would love to spend tomorrow evening with you." The eighteen year old smiled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in the warmth of his embrace. She smiled and hugged him back and then after a few moments she pulled away. He smiled and crossed the threshold of her house, he must have walked ten steps when he remembered something and then walked back to her.

He smiled boyishly and said "You forgot to give me a good night kiss, Rae." She smiled and leaned towards him, he closed his eyes; but instead of feeling her lips on his lips, he felt her kiss the corner of his mouth. She teased him by kissing so close to his mouth but not giving him what he wanted.

Raven pulled away and smirked and said "There…good night Roy, I will see you tomorrow." And she walked back into her house but she heard him whining "That's not fair babe…you are so making this up to me later."

She cocked her head outside and saw his pouty expression and said "We'll see." Roy pouted for a moment but then chuckled while walking to his car. 'She really is something else.' No other affected him this way and he was sure that no other girl would ever make him feel this way.


	16. The big night

The next day, Roy was getting ready in his room. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a red undershirt and a black bow tie. He adjusted his tie again and brushed his hair for the millionth time that evening. He sprayed some perfume on his neck and on his suit and then cuffed his cufflinks. With that Roy took a deep breath, tonight if everything went well then he would ask Raven to be his girlfriend. He went down to the kitchen and took out a transparent plastic container which had a white flower with a hit of blue corsage in it.

Roy took the container and headed towards his car after meeting his guardians; they complimented him on his dashing appearance and wished him luck when Roy told them that he was going to ask Raven to be his girlfriend.

He drove off to Raven's house and dreaded meeting her father as he parked. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart and walked towards the entrance of her house, he rang the doorbell and he heard someone walking up to him. He turned and saw Richard in a tux similar to his but only with a dark blue undershirt, he was also holding a container with a red corsage in it.

Roy looked at him and cocked his head to the side with confusion, Richard stood beside him and explained "Kori doesn't live with her parents, they are still on Tamaran…she looks up to Mr. Roth as a father figure in her life and besides…the girls were getting ready together." Roy nodded in understanding.

After a couple more moments the door opened and it was Raven's intimidating father; both the boys gulped nervously and said their greeting. The man's was stoic but his eyes were dancing with mischief, he ushered them inside the house and said "I hope that you two will be on your best behavior with the girls…I hope you understand me Roy and Richard."

The two eighteen year olds nodded and said "We will be on our best behavior." With that two girls descended down the stairs, the boys forgot how to breathe when they saw their dates.

Kori had her hair tied up in an elegant bun with her shorter locks framing her face; she was wearing elegant makeup and a pearl choker around her neck. Her dress was light pink, it was sleeveless and it reached the floor, a white lace belt hugged her waist, showing off her thin waist and she completed her look with white heels. After a few more moments Richard snapped out of his daze and approached her and complimented "You look beautiful tonight." Kori smiled and said "Even you look most handsome." He smiled and lightly kissed her cheek and offered to help her wear the corsage.

Meanwhile Roy was still staring at Raven, she was wearing a red mermaid style gown, and the dress was one shouldered with a slit on the left side which ended mid thigh. He wore black heels which were tied around her calf, they made her legs endless. Around her waist there was an intricate, black lace belt which showed off her waist. Her hair was left open in curls and parted to one side and Roy noticed a change, Raven had a flick also now. 'She must have gotten that done recently' he thought. She had smokey eyes and a light blush on her cheeks and a little red lipstick, which drove him wild. He was drooling a little bit also.

Roy slowly walked towards her and said "You look stunning tonight." She smiled and said "You look pretty dashing too." He kissed her cheek lovingly and then said "Well, you are missing one thing." Raven raised an eyebrow in question, Roy smiled and showed her the corsage, he helped her wear it and then said whilst still holding her hand "There…all perfect."

He offered her his elbow and said "Shall we?" she just smiled and hooked her hand in his. The two pairs said their byes to Raven's dad and then left.

The couples were going together to the Prom. Roy opened the passenger seat door for Raven and Richard did the same for Kori for the backseat doors. The drive to the school was filled with fun conversation between friends and loving glances between couples.

Roy parked his black Mercedes and opened the door for Raven and helped her get out, they saw Richard and Kori already walking inside. Roy turned towards Raven while walking hand in hand "You really look so beautiful tonight…I don't know how well I will be able to behave when all those guys start hitting on you." He said half joking.

Raven turned towards him with a mischievous smile and said "Then maybe you should hit on me first…" Roy grinned and snaked his arm around Raven's waist and pulled her close to him and said "That I can do."

They entered the school garden, which was decorated for their prom night. Beautiful streamers and balloons were displayed with party music playing in the background. And there was a gallery in which all the pictures of memorable moments of this year were displayed.

A few guys eyed Raven appreciatively; Roy saw this and growled lightly pulling Raven close to him, showing everyone that she was with him. The couple managed to locate their friends near the gallery, Garfield was the first one to see them, and he waved them over and whistled lightly when he saw Raven. "Wow Rae, you look absolutely beautiful." Garfield complimented, Raven didn't know how to perceive this compliment. Karen rolled her eyes and said "Ignore him Raven…he saw been like this with every girl."

They all laughed and talked for a while when Victor said "Excuse us everyone…I wish to dance with this beautiful lady who is my girlfriend." He said the last part whilst looking at Karen, she just blushed and the couple headed to the dance floor. Richard also guided Kori to the dance floor, while the two boys headed to the food table. Raven turned towards Roy and said "Wanna see the gallery first…then we can dance." Roy just smiled and took her hand in his and led her to the gallery.

There were many pictures, some were of them with their friends, some were of the awkward moments which may have happened, other was of some pranks and one was of them sitting together in the library. Roy looked at that picture and then turned to raven "Do you when this was taken?"

In the picture Raven was looking in her book with a tiny smile on her face while Roy was sitting right next to her and looking at her lovingly, he had a dreamy look on his face. Wordlessly Raven took out her phone and took a picture of the displayed picture and then she turned to look at her date who had the same dreamy expression as he did in the picture and said "Yeah, this was taken after our second date…when I was in the library and you were bothering me." She said the last part jokingly. Roy tried to remember that moment and then said "Yeah after our second-…..Hey! I was not bothering you." He protested when her words sank into him.

She just laughed at him and Roy was unable to retain any of his anger after watching her laugh, he just walked up to her and pulled her close to him and kissed her lovingly.

After a couple of moments they broke apart and Roy asked charmingly "So how about that dance now?" she held his hand and said "Lead the way." They made their way to the dance floor and a slow song was playing in the background, Roy just grinned and snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, Raven looped her arms around his neck and they began to lightly sway to the music. (Raven was a little shorter than him, she reached till his chin but right now she was wearing heels so she could comfortably rest her head on his shoulder.)

Raven smiled at him and looked into his honey brown eyes and said "I have never been this happy with anyone…thank you." He just smiled at her and said "I am glad that you are happy with me…I love spending time with you."

She smiled and leaned her head on his neck, pulling his closer in the process and said "I actually wanted to apologize for judging you too quickly…for thinking that you were just playing me."

Roy was filled with guilt now, he wanted to, _had to,_ tell her the truth now. She deserved to know everything; his friends were right, he couldn't start a relationship with her on lies, he had to make her aware of the truth. Before he could say anything Raven pulled back and kissed his cheek and said "I actually want to tell you something at the end of the night." Roy was about to say something when the music changed to one of upbeat and the couple made their way to the food table where their other friends were.

After eating and talking, Roy asked Raven to another dance; they danced two more dances when Garth and Jason approached them to dance with Raven. Roy reluctantly let her go and he approached the refreshments table, his eyes never leaving Raven. Garfield approached him and started making conversation and Roy nodded his eyes never leaving Raven.

After a dance, Raven changed partners; she was now dancing with Jason. There was a closeness between them which wasn't there when she danced with Garth, her long friendship with Jason maybe the answer; she was happier and more at ease with the dark haired boy. After a dance Raven politely stepped away from him when Jason whispered something in her ear and she stepped close to him again. Roy growled under his breath when he saw them dance again, he was not listening to Garfield anymore.

When the song ended, Jason was about to suggest another dance when Roy stepped up beside her and he wrapped his arm around Raven's waist and said "We have to leave for Richard's party now." Raven looked around and saw that many people had started to leave, she flipped open her phone and saw that it had been three and a half hours since they had arrived.

Jason nodded and Roy's words and kissed Raven's hand and approached his friends. Roy grumbled under his breath "Cheeky jerk." Raven just laughed and said "Did you just do this to get him to stop dancing with me?"

"I mean he was monopolizing your time on the dance floor…two consecutive dances." Roy growled. She laughed again and turned to look at him, her hands around his shoulders and said "Are you always this jealous?" he loosely wrapped his arms around her and said "Only for you babe…only you."

He leaned down and then kissed her, she responded with the same love and passion. The red head tilted his head and pulled her closer to him to deepen the kiss. After a few moments they broke apart and Raven said holding his hand "Come on we have to go to Richard's house."

Roy smiled and followed her to his car. He smiled and kissed the back of her hand before driving away. They didn't notice the hateful and evil look they got from a black haired girl, the girl smirked wickedly and then followed the couple to Richard's home.


	17. Truths are revealed

They arrived at Richard's home and before Raven stepped out of his car Roy captured her lips in a searing kiss. After a couple more moments Roy pulled away and lovingly kissed her nose and said "Let's go babe." They walked in Richard's house hand in hand.

Everyone was already there, only their group of friends and a few other known strangers were invited. The couple entered and was flooded by their friends. The friends talked, joked, danced and had a great time together until an Asian girl with dark hair walked in.

Roy and Wally were the first ones who noticed her. Roy looked panicked and Wally just looked plain angry. Wally placed a comforting and supportive hand on his friend's shoulder and the two friends approached the girl.

She smirked when she saw them approaching. They led her to the front yard and Wally hissed "What do you want Jade?" she sauntered over to Roy and caressed his face with the slightest of touches and said "I want Roy…what else?" Roy growled and flinched away from her touch.

She smiled and looked at him and said "Oh don't be like that love…we had so much fun together."

"We broke up four years ago Jade…and I have moved on." Roy spat.

Meanwhile inside the house, Raven was talking to Richard and Jason when she noticed that Roy was not around. She looked around the living room and asked the boys "Have you seen Roy?" they shook their heads and before Raven could say anything else Jinx approached them and asked "Have you seen Wally? I can't find him anywhere." Raven looked at the pink haired girl and stated "I can't find Roy either."

"I'll check the house, how about you check the yard?" Jinx suggested. Richard helped Raven in looking for her date while Jason helped Jinx. They didn't find the two red headed boys in the back yard so they checked the front yard and saw them with a black haired woman.

The boy's backs was turned towards them, but Jade saw Raven and said wickedly to Roy "You would hate for Raven to get to know about the challenge right?" these words bought the attention of the boys in front of her to her, Raven looked confused and Richard's eyes were as wide as saucers.

Jade smirked and continued "What if she got to know that you were interested in her only because you were challenged by your friends and because of your desire to win the title of 'Lady Killer'. It would shatter her trust but you know what would break her heart?" Roy looked at her with panic and anger in his eyes.

"If she got to know that you were just using her and you don't actually have any feelings for her." With that Jade kissed Roy on his lips, his eyes were wide as saucers and he quickly pushed her away and said "What the hell are you doing?" Wally pulled her off his friend. Jade smiled a Cheshire grin and pointed behind them; the boys turned and saw Raven standing there with everyone else.

Raven was conflicted with emotions; her mind was plagued with doubt. 'No Roy wouldn't do this to me…right.' Raven made her way over to Roy in unsteady and unsure steps and asked "Is what she said true?"

Before Roy could say anything Jade pitched in "Of course it is." Wally looked at her with anger in his eyes but before he could say or do anything Jinx and Karen stepped in and said "You need to leave." "Now!" Jinx yelled. The two girls made sure that Jade left before turning her attention towards the couple.

"Just answer me." Raven said weakly, her eyes looked pained and there was something inside her which wished that Roy would tell her that everything Jade said was a lie, a horrible lie and that he would never do this to her.

Victor, Karen, Wally, Jinx, Garth, Richard and Garfield stood around him and Raven; they looked at the ground with shame burning in their eyes. Kori and Jason stood beside Richard with confusion and anger in the latter's eyes.

Roy sighed with regret and said in a small voice "Yes…it is true." Raven closed her eyes and turned away from him, wrapping her arms around her as if to protect herself. Roy took a step towards her and said "Please raven…the challenge stop…"

He was interrupted by a laugh; the laughter was empty and mirthless, it filled the silence between the friends. He saw raven laughing; she turned to look at him, a few tears falling from her eyes but she was laughing. "I got played by a guy again…*a few intakes of air but continued laughing* I was so stupid to think that Roy Harper, the handsome playboy was interested in me."

Roy looked away in sadness, tears were running down her face and she was laughing in pain. His heart broke at her words, "I was just a way of entertainment for all of you." She said looking at Karen, Jinx, Wally, Garth, Garfield and Victor. Victor looked at her with regret in his eyes and said "No, Raven it's not like that." Raven just shook her head at his words and laughed again, more tears falling from her eyes; she walked over to Richard and said "We had been friends for years*gasp* you were there at the time of Mal-Malchior *choked sobs*and you did this to me…knowing how hard it is for me to trust *choke* anyone. So I hope the entertainment was worth it." Before Richard could form words she had turned away from him.

Raven walked back to Roy and said with tears falling down her face like there was no end "You won Roy Harper, I fell in love with you…you are such a good actor *gasp* that I thought you could feel the same for me…congratulations on winning." Roy turned and looked at her; she was in love with him? And before she could say anything her laughter ceased and she broke down in sobs and said without looking at him "…Goodbye Mr. Lady Killer." Roy cringed at her words and a lone tear slid down his cheek, the only sound which could be heard was of Raven walking away in unsteady steps and before he could do anything Jason ran and caught up to Raven, pulling her into his embrace. She clung on to him and cried on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her while they walked to Raven's house, secretly thankful that Richard and Raven were neighbors.

And without saying anything Kori ran after her friends and wrapped her arms around Raven from behind, giving her all the comfort she could need.

_How could such a wonderful night turn into this? She will never trust me again._ Roy thought as he fell on his knees and a few tears of pain slid down his face. _I loved her…I love her, I can't let her go. I will explain everything to her._ He thought as he wiped his tears away "I need to explain…I need a chance to explain. I can't lose her not like this." He muttered.

With that he got up and was about to follow her to her house when he saw Jason walking back to them with anger in his eyes, his fists clenched and his nostrils flared in hatred. "Jason, I need to speak to her." Roy pleaded.

"To do what? Feed her more lies…break her heart again, shatter her trust again. I warned you against hurting her ever." Jason yelled at the red head in anger.

"Give us at least one chance to explain." Richard said. After a slow pause Jason reluctantly nodded, "We did make this challenge because we knew that Raven would reject him." Karen said.

"Yeah and we thought that after one unsuccessful attempt, Roy would give up…but we didn't know that he would try again." Wally chimed in. "After becoming friends with her and getting to know her…the challenge stopped mattering. When I was with her it was just because I wanted to be with her…not because of the challenge." Roy explained.

"Raven has become one of our closest friends and we all decided to forget about the challenge, but somehow jade got to know about it and…" Victor said.

"You should have told her…you should have told her before she had fallen for you, before it could cause so much pain." Jason said with a sigh, his voice filled with sadness for his friend.

"And risk having her walk away, risk losing her…like I did tonight." Roy said with sadness.

"She would have listened to you, she might have been angry at first but then would've given you a chance to explain…but now she is hurt, in pain. But Roy *he put a hand on his shoulder* she loves you…you haven't lost her…You just have to fight for her again and make her aware of your feelings." Jason said.

"I need to speak to her." With that the red head started walking towards Raven's house but a voice stopped him and it was Jason's "No, give her tonight…give her time to take out her pain and anger. Speak to her tomorrow but I must tell you…it won't be easy."

"She is worth it." Roy said immediately.

With that the friends parted, this is not how they wished for their night to end but the truth about the challenge had to come into light anyway. Roy wordlessly entered his car and drove home, all his memories with Raven started resurfacing; their first date, dancing in the moonlight, their first kiss in his car, their time in the carnival, him asking her to prom, all their conversations and all their loving embraces. Roy gripped the steering wheel in frustration and anger at himself.

He entered his room and remembered how happy he had been when he had returned from their first date; they hadn't had any time, they needed to have more time. Their moments could not be so little; they needed more time to make more moments. He had to tell her that he loved her, he would make her understand. He will not let her go.


	18. Epilogue

_He entered his room and remembered how happy he had been when he had returned from their first date; they hadn't had any time, they needed to have more time. Their moments could not be so little; they needed more time to make more moments. He had to tell her that he loved her, he would make her understand. He will not let her go. _

During the weekend after Prom, Roy had tried to speak to Raven many times but she refused to even look at him. He tried calling her but she didn't pick up, he texted her but she didn't reply. This weekend was torturous for him, all he could do was sit and wait for Monday so that he could talk to her there, and the anticipation was eating him alive.

The next day, Roy was standing near his locker, waiting for Raven to come. Even if she didn't want to speak to him she would have to come to her locker. He waited and waited and saw the corridors flood with people but he couldn't find the one who his eyes were so thirsty to see. It wasn't until the first bell rang till he thought that she wasn't coming today; he sighed and made his way to his first class, the one he shared with Raven.

After five minutes in the class, the door opened and an all too familiar voice said "Sorry Mr. Wilson I am late…I wasn't feeling too well in the morning." To support her excuse she actually had red cheeks and her eyes didn't have the usual sparkle it had. The older man saw this and excused the girl, allowing her to enter.

Roy was ecstatic when he saw her enter; the seat beside him was empty. He was hoping that she would sit beside him and that he would get a chance to speak to her. Raven walked up to him and without looking at him even once she sat beside him, adjusting the chair so that there was the maximum distance she could have between them.

Roy saw this and his heart was filled with sadness, he was watching her from the corner of his eyes while she took some deep breaths to calm herself down. After class Roy turned to side to speak to Raven but saw her walking quickly out of the class, he tried to chase after her but she had already taken her books out of her locker and was heading to her next class.

He waited patiently till the lunch break; for that was the only time they would meet and would have time to speak. Their table was deprived of the usual chatter and laughter; all of them were looking around for Raven, Kori or Jason.

"Have you spoken to Kori?" Wally asked Richard. The latter sighed and said "Yeah…but she is angry and sad for Raven. I explained everything to her but she said that Raven is not ready to hear any explanations from her or Jason."

"Have any of you spoken to Raven today?" Roy asked. His friends shook their heads and Jinx said "She is avoiding us like the plague." Suddenly all of their attention was diverted to the entrance of the cafeteria, Raven was walking in with Kori and Jason, they were talking and Raven refused to even look in their direction. Her face was stoic and emotionless.

Without even looking at them Raven sat on a different table with her friends, this seemed odd as they spent the last three months sitting together during lunch. Raven turned to Kori and Jason who sat beside her and said "You both should go over there, the challenge was me not you both…they really were your friends. I will be fine _alone_."

Kori seemed offended by this and grasped Raven's hand and said "Friend, you never are alone…you must not think that we will abandon you. You have always been there for us when we have needed you now please let us do the same." Raven smiled at her friend and said "But Kori, Richard is there…I know you want to be with him." Kori just shook her head and said "I can be his girlfriend later…right now I am your best friend."

Jason nodded in agreement with Kori and said "What kind of friends would we be if we left you alone, little bird. You can always count on us to be there."

After a while Roy started making his way over, Raven coincidentally got up at the same time and said to her friends "We have a free period now, I am going to clear my head…see you later." Kori and Jason nodded with a small smile.

Raven got up and made her way out of the cafeteria, Roy and his friends approached Kori and Jason and said "I need to make her understand…I need to speak to her now."

Jason sighed "You should try…but I don't know where she went, she just said she is going to clear her head." Roy nodded at his words and then left the cafeteria, he knew where Raven was.

Flashback-

_Roy was frustrated with his friends, they didn't understand him and they hated his honesty. He just said things like they were no beating around the bush or sugarcoating his words. He didn't think that his honesty was brutal or even rude. _

_He opened the door to the school roof and was surprised when he saw someone already sitting by the edge of the roof. He walked to the figure and was surprised to see Raven there. She acknowledged his presence and said "Hey." _

"_Hi, what are you doing here?" Roy asked while sitting next to her. She just smiled and looked into the horizon and said "I come here sometimes to clear my head." He just grinned at her and followed her line of sight. _

_After a couple of moments Raven saw him fidgeting and asked "What's wrong Roy?" he stopped at turned to look at her and sighed. It was useless to lie to her, they had become good friends and she seemed to know when he was lying. _

"_It's my friends…they think that I am too blunt. But they don't understand that that's the way I am, I like honesty, no senseless beating around the bush or sugarcoating words." He said._

_She just smiled and said "Honesty is good Roy…but sometimes sugarcoating words is also important." He cocked his head to the side in confusion and asked "How?" _

_She thought for a moment and then said "You know pure gold is very soft and to make it strong a little bit of copper is added to it…that's how relationships are, we need to add a little bit of sugarcoating, love and respect to make it strong." Roy let her words sink into him._

_After some thinking he turned to Raven and saw that there was something deep inside her, she saw things deeply and in a different way. He just smiled and thanked her and lightly kissed her cheek and they both sat in silence, both a little pink on their cheeks._

Roy snapped out of his mind when he saw the door to the roof in front of him. This was it, either he would win her back or he would lose her forever. He took a deep breath and opened the door and stepped inside, the sky was cloudy and the weather was pleasant with light breezes flowing.

He walked away from the door and as he suspected he saw Raven sitting near the edge, her knees were pulled up to her chest and she had wrapped her arms around them, she looked so frail and vulnerable that Roy's heart ached at the sight of her. He slowly sat beside her and said in his gentlest tone "We need to talk…I have some explaining to do to you." Raven didn't look at him or even acknowledge his presence until moments later when she said "Why? Did your friends challenge you again?"

That was harsh, but he deserved it. He just sighed and said "Just let me say everything once…and if after that you don't want to believe me then I won't bother you again."

She said nothing so after a while he took it as an acceptance for him to speak his bit.

"Yes, I admit that initially what brought my attention towards you were the challenge and the fact that you were always so unbothered by my presence…but slowly when I started spending time with you I started to forget about the challenge…like that day in the carnival, I enjoyed spending time with you so much that I forgot why I was there in the first place.

We slowly became friends and I valued your friendship much more than winning that challenge. When I asked you out, I did that for me not because of the stupid challenge…in fact just before I called you that day my friends minus Richard and I had decided to forget the challenge; in fact Victor had warned me about what he would do to me if I were to ever hurt you. We all love you Raven, in these couple of months you have become our best friend, and you have become one of us…and when we started going out I had never even once thought about the challenge. But somehow Jade got to know about it and decided to play her chaotic schemes to hurt you."

Raven without looking at him asked "Why didn't you tell me?"

He sighed "I thought that if I told you then I would lose you and that fear of you walking out of my life, leaving me didn't allow me to tell you about it…"

After a couple more moments Raven spoke "I would have been angry at you and even hurt…but I would have let you finish and tell me the whole thing…hearing it from Jade made me think that I was just a number to you, a means of entertainment whom you would leave as soon as you have gotten what you wanted."

He turned to look at her and with love in his voice he said "You will never just be a number to me Raven, you affect me in a way that nobody else ever has or ever will…I was in love with you when we went out on our first date…I love everything about you, your sarcasm, your wit, the way you do girl-y things with Kori just to make her happy even though you hate it, the way you push me out of my comfort zone to do new things, the way your face lights up when you get a new book, the way you look so peaceful when you drink tea, your different perspective on things…

And I just wanted to apologize for tarnishing your trust in me." Raven finally turned to look at him and she saw the sincerity of his words on his face and the love he has for her in his eyes. She lost herself in the deep love his honey brown eyes held and said "Don't lie to me ever again." With that she bolted and wrapped her arms around his neck, she rested her head on his shoulder and faced his neck.

It took Roy a moment to realize what happened and when he did he just smiled and wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her closer to him. He kissed her forehead and said "Never again, love…never again."

After a while, they both were still in their love filled embrace when Raven opened her eyes and lightly brushed her lips against his neck before pulling away and saying with a smile "For the record…I love you too." Roy just smiled at her and pulled her back in his embrace leaning down to kiss her lips, Raven smirked and slid a finger between them just before their lips could meet.

Roy opened his eyes when he felt her finger instead of her lips and he saw Raven smirking wickedly. That can't be good for him, oh no.

She just smiled and got up and said "Well I think a little punishment is in order…you can't kiss me for two weeks."

How could she be so mean to him and his poor lips, he pouted and said whilst getting up "Rae, that's not fair…that's just plain cruel."

She just laughed and opened the door to exit the roof but he caught her hand and pulled her against him, she looked confused while he was grinning, her hands were fisted in his shirt and his arms were around her waist keeping her close, "Will you be mine? My girlfriend? There is nobody else I would like to be with but you."

Raven smiled and leaned forward, he thought that she was going to kiss him but instead of his lips he felt her lips on nose, like you would kiss a little child. She pulled back and said "I would love to." He couldn't be angry any longer so he smiled and hugged her close to him; she too wrapped her arms around him.

He was so happy that he picked her off the ground and spun her around; she just yelped and embraced him tightly. After a couple of minutes he let her go and was surprised when he felt her kissing him; not to let this opportunity go he smiled against her lips before tilting his head and kissing her deeply, pouring all his love into the kiss.

After a while they pulled away and Roy smirked and said "See I knew that you wouldn't be able to resist."

Raven smiled evilly and said "I said that you couldn't kiss me…I said nothing about myself." Her words sank into him and he grinned and slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. "Come on…we have to tell our friends." Roy said. They started walking towards the door when Raven said "They told me everything you said after I had left from Richard's house…but I needed to hear it from you…I needed to know the complete story from you." He kissed her temple and sighed with contentment, he had gotten another chance. He had her now and he wasn't going to let her go.

**No flames. If you don't like the pairing then don't read.**

**Only constructive criticism please.**


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